1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns means for protecting floors under and around toilets, and particularly relates to an apron which indicates the presence of seepage through a primary seal between the toilet and a closet flange.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The successful seal of a toilet to an associated soil pipe has been a long standing problem to which many solutions have been proposed. Most inventions addressing this problem have dealt with improving the primary seal between the toilet and the soil pipe. Proposed seals have been designed to be more effective, longer lasting, or more convenient to install. Few secondary systems have been developed to protect the floor under the toilet in the event the primary seal fails or which provide warning of the failure of the primary seal.
Many devices have been developed which attempt to form a successful seal between a toilet and soil pipe. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 696,183 discloses a rubber gasket for the joint between a toilet and soil pipe through the use of a closet flange also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,851. The closet flange is typically secured to the floor. The toilet in turn is secured to the closet flange. The soil pipe must be sealed to the flange. U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,308 shows a method of sealing the closet flange to the soil pipe. The sealing of the flange to the soil pipe has not been a chronic problem since the flange and soil pipe are frequently made from similar materials. However, the seal between the dissimilar materials of the toilet bowl and the closet flange has proven to be a difficult problem to overcome. Commonly a wax ring seal is used between the flange and the toilet base to form a seal as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,820, issued to M. G. Thompson. As Thompson relates, the traditional wax ring seal may not be totally satisfactory against leakage after a period of time. A number of alternatives to the wax ring seal have been proposed as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,423,526 and 4,482,161.
A number of configurations of flanges and gaskets have been proposed to facilitate the installation of toilet bowls. U.S. Pat. No. 760,863 shows a flange which is screwed to the soil pipe and has a plurality of vertical rings meant to be cemented to similar grooves in the base of the toilet. U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,805 shows a rubber flange between the toilet and the soil pipe which provides for adjustment of the position of the toilet with respect to the soil pipe. U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,849 shows a flange for rejoining the toilet to the soil pipe following repair of the floor under the toilet. U.S. Pat. No. 1,533,444 shows a floor slab for mounting a bathroom fixture such as a toilet. None of these installation devices provide a secondary seal intended to protect the floor from primary seal leakage.
Devices that extend under the edge of a toilet base include U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,113 which discloses a strip of foam rubber inserted under the edge of the toilet base. U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,075 shows a mat for absorbing liquid spilled near a toilet. The mat surrounds a toilet base but does not extend under the edge of the base. U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,922 discloses a rubber pad disposed beneath a toilet base and extending outwardly therefrom.
Also of interest are pads which are designed to protect the floor from condensation dripping from the toilet, toilet overflow, or from leaks originating from seals within the toilet itself such as the seal between the toilet bowl and the tank as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,560. Such pads are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 918,396 issued to B. F. Tracy, U.S. Pat. No. 2,229,814 issued to T. Mikolajczak, et. al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,545 issued to S. D. Stoltzfus. The Tracy and Mikolajczak pads extend under the toilet; however, neither pad cooperates with the closet flange to catch leaks emanating from the primary seal. In fact these pads appear to rely on a substantially waterproof seal between the bottom edge of the toilet and the pad to keep leaked or spilled liquid on the outside of the toilet from seeping under the toilet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,922 discloses a rubber pad disposed beneath a toilet base, and which prevents liquid from becoming trapped under the toilet. As a primary seal for joining a toilet and closet flange which is absolutely effective over a period of time has not been demonstrated, there is a need to protect the floor from leaks flowing through the primary seal. In particular, there is a need for means which will indicate the presence of a leak and which will protect the floor from such leaked water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,904 discloses a flanged joint for use in a pipeline, said joint having leak detecting means in the form of a spout radially emergent from the flange.
Accordingly it is a principal object of the present invention to provide apparatus means for protecting the floor under a toilet from leaks, especially leaks through the primary seal between the toilet base and the closet flange.
It is another object of this invention to contain any leaks to an area which extends beyond the footprint of the toilet so that the leak is exposed to detection.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apron equipped with means for visually indicating seepage from said primary seal.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide an apron of the aforesaid nature of simple construction amenable to low cost manufacture and permitting easy installation.